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You want reviews? Here’s mine on the S-A “loaded” 1911A1.

Springfield Armory 1911A1
Springfield Armory 1911A1

By Vaughn Terpack

All features that I can find are cosmetic and not functional on the pistol that I have. They say that the gun is throated and polished, but I can’t verify that as I have little knowledge on the subject.
The trumpeted Novak rear sight is as near to worthless for a combat gun. It is very durable and very snag-free so I don’t expect that it will ever break….but, every smith that I’ve spoken with doesn’t understand their popularity; basically, it is heavier, more costly, and trickier to install than other combat sights. The single greatest reason for my dislike of the sight is that there is no illuminating paint or tritium to help you distinguish the sight picture in low-light combat situations. Black-on-black sights might have been the norm in the old days, but you would think that with today’s technology would allow them to put a drop of bright paint on the sight before sending it out the door. This shouldn’t be left up to the consumer!

The gun is very, very accurate right out of the box and it feels great in the hand. But, if I was to do things over again, I would buy their mil-spec pistol because it is far cheaper and have custom work done to it. This would have allowed me to get all of the needed combat enhancements I want/need without paying so much for the stock gun. Figure that my gun cost $520 new and I will have to replace several components and add several others to make this a serviceable duty weapon fit for real fighting. At $450 for the mil-spec, I could have put on a contoured beavertail safety, extended thumb safety, and durable work grips w/o going too far over the price of the “loaded” versions. It would definitely have been more expensive, but you get exactly what you want and don’t end up with doubles (like I’ll have when I replace my fancy rosewood grips with plastic or rubber ones). The key here is research. Lots of it and plenty of serious thinking about what you need.

The parkerized finish is nice and durable, but maybe something else is better. Maybe you do need a guard under the thumb safety or an inlet mag well funnel. Who knows what your needs are better than you? Do the research and then buy the Mil-spec for the base gun. That’s my opinion.

I am having fun, though;-) Gotta love that 1911A1 and all the history that comes with it.

Vaughn Terpack,
master shootist.


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